Clutch.



, i citizen ofthe UNiTnDsTnTns PATENT ornioir.l

CLARENCE E. JEFFERIS,`OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA; ASSIGNOR '120 HOWARD MARMON l OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

Specification of Letters Patent. i

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

Application -filed July 246, 1917. Serial No. 182,811. v

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CLARENCE E. JEFFERS," United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Clutch, ofwhich .the following is a specification. Y

It is the object of my invention to provide a clutch which .does not grab and in which the drivenpart of the clutch has very small.

inertia, so that When the clutch is set the driven part is started easily, and when the clutch is released the momentum of the driven part if it is in motion 4will not be sufi'iciently great-to cause such motion to continue very long. By thus cutting down the momentum of the driven part of the clutch,

`the clutch is released. This is I cause it to'slow down" more rapidly when of especia advantage in automobiles, particularly when shifting gears, as when the clutch is released at the beginning of a gear shift and then the gear shift lever is thrown to neutral position thedriven part of the clutch and the f transmission shaftingl between the clutch and the shifting gears will slow down quickly because of the small4 momentum, thereby permitting the gear shift lever to be thrown to the next gear` position more rapidly and with less liability of eliminating any necessity for a transmission brake; .in addition, because of the small inertia of these parts,a` movement of the gear shift lever to throw in the gears at an improper time will produce'less strain on the meshing parts.

In carrying out my invention, floating clutch element which carries the friction material of the clutch and is located between the driving and driven members, and arranged so tha it is released from the two members of the clutch successively, preferably from the driving member first.

he accompanying drawing illustrates my invention. Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view through a clutch embodying my invention, with different friction materials employed for the frictional surfaces ;v Fig. 2 is a simiiar view with the saine friction mate riale empli.A ed for the two frictonal surfaces; and 3 is a fragmentary transverse section with. the clutch released.

The tli'ii" member 10 of the Clutch may also be he lijf wheel of the engine, as is common in ani'onicbiie construction, and is Marion and face `which surfaces they gear clashing, and also as indicated `forthe .L provide a,

mounted on the engine crank shaft 11 in any suitable manner. It maybe provided with is provided with` any desirable means for shifting it longitudinally. It maybe quite light in construction,

U h and is provided wit an external frustoconical clutch sur- 16 smaller than the clutch surface 13 of the driving member 10. v l.

ABetween* the two clutch surfaces 13 and is located a frusto-conical floating ring .17; On the outer and inner surfaces of this iioating ringare mounted layers ofany suitable friction material 18 and 19 for engaging the clutch surfaces 13 and 16 respectively, with The friction material 18 and 19 may be fastened to the ring 17in any suitable manner, usually being riveted 20 if the friction material is ofthe nature of ,leather or of many of; the usual composition friction materials, as indicated for the friction material18 in Fig. 1, and shellackcd oi glued thereto if the friction material is of the nature of cork or of cork composition, friction material 19 in ig. 1 The tapers of the t-wo,fiustoco11ical correspond in shape. r

thereto by rivets surfaces 13 and 16 are so arranged withf-relation `to the oo-eiiicients of friction of such surfaces .with the friction material 18l and .19 that when the clutch is released the floating element separates .from the two surfaces 13 and 16 successively, preferablyi from the surface lfirst. This may be accomplished in various ways, as by providing friction Inaterialwith different co-eicients of friction with the clutch surfaces 13 and 16, as illustrated in Fig.` 1 where the co-eilicient of friction of the leather. `orfcomposition fric: tion material 18 with thesurface 13 is less than that of the cork 19v with the surface 16, in which case the tapers of tho two frustoconical surfaces 13 and 16 may be the same: or by providing friction material with the same co-eiicient of friction with such clutcl-L surfaces, as illustrated in Fig. 2 whore both friction'Inateria's` 18 and 19 are shown being leather or con'iposition friction matc-` rial, in which case the angle between the elements of the clutchY surface. 13 and the 10 has fixed theretoat the larger end of -its frusto-conical surface `13a ring21 which projects into the path of axial' movement of the floating ring 17, -so that when the clutch is'released and the friction material 18 has separated from` theclutch surface 13 the floating ring 17 strikes `the ring 21 andis prevented from further axial movementy relative to the driving member 10; thus re quiring the separation of the friction material 19 from the clutch surface 16 upon further movement of the driven member 13 to the right.

Thus when Vthe clutch is. released, the float-ly ing ring 17 and the friction materials 18 and 19 are separated from the driven member 1li, so that such driven member is relieved of the momentum due to the weight of the friction` material and the necessarily rather heavy part which .carries=it.. This permits rapid` variationsin speed in the driven member 14,1

without shock, and causes such driven member to decrease in speed rapidly when the clutch has once been released,` thus facilitating shifting of gears in -an automobile byy reason of the morerapid slowing down of the transmission shaft, eliminating the neces# sity for a transmissionbrake or diminishing the work of such transmissionbrake if it is used, and le'ssening 4thestra/in on the parts if the shifting gears are .thrown into mesh whenl the meshing parts are not moving at the same speed.

When the clutch is set, the clutch surface 16 engages thefriction material 19l first and then fOrces the floating element to the left to bring the friction material 18 into engagement with the clutch surface 13. This reduces a clutchsett'ing without grabbing, E reason of this-successiveactionand of the sliding which is `permissible on both 'clutch surfaces. Preferably use any suitable pick-up devices 25 in connection with either or both separable sets of surfaces either under the friction material'or o n the coperating clutch surface. haven shown such pick-up disks 25 on the clutch surface 13 in Figs. 2 and 3. These pick-up disks are resilient flat members, and are supported only at their opposite edges, the surface 13 being grooved behind the central parts of said disks; so that the disks'are chords of the circle formed by the surface 13, but may be flexed toward such circle. Thus when the clutch is setA the friction material 18 first engages these pick-up disks 25 as the parts are brought toward each other, and flex such disks gradually from their normal chordal condition into the grooves behind them.- The 'pick-up disks thus cooperate with the double.separation`obtained by the use of the floating element to produce radu'alsetting of the clutch without `grabing. They also serve to center the floating element. l

I claim as my invention:

1. A- clutch, comprising a driving member, a relatively shiftable driven member, and a floating elementbetween said driving and driven members, said floating element having separable engagement with both said driving andv driven members, said engaging surfaces 0f said floating element and said drivingl and driven members rbei-ngI of such shape and material that the floating element separates' from the driving' member before it separates from thedriven member.

2. A clutch, comprising a driving membera relatively shiftable driven member, a floating element between saiddriving and -driven members, said floating element havin separableengagement with both said vdr1ving and driven members, said engaging surfaces of saidv floating element and said driving and driven members being of such Shape and material that the floating element 1separatesl from the driving member before it separates from thedriven member, and a Istop memberllmitmg such separating movement between such floating element and the driving member to insure the separation of lsoaid floating element from the driven mem- ,3. A clutch, comprising a driving member havingan internal frusto-conical clutch surface, a relatively shiftable driven member having. an external frusto-conical surface, and a floating ring between said two frustoconical surfaces, said floatin ring having vexternal and internal layers o friction material for separably engaging said internal and external clutch surfaces respectively.

4. A clutch, comprising a -driving member `having an internal fr usto-conical clutch surface, a relatively shiftable driven member havingan external frusto-conical -surface,-

"a floating-ring between said two frustoconical surfaces, said floating ring having external and internal layers of friction material for separably engaging said internal and external clutch surfaces respectively, Aand a stop member limiting the axial movement of said floating ring relative to one of said members.

5. A clutch. comprising a driving member having an internal frusto-conical clutch surface, a relatively shiftable driven member having an eXter-nal frusto-conical surface,

and a floating ring between said two frusto-l conical surfaces, said floating ring having ,ring relative to the surface.

comprising a driving meinexternal and internal layers of friction ma- 6. A clutchh ber having an internal frusto-con'ical clutch surface, a relatively shiftable driven member having an external frusto-conical surface, and a floating ring between said two frusto-conical Surfaces, said floating ring having external and internal layers of friction material for separably engaging said internal and external clutch surfacesre` spectively, the co-eflicients of friction of said friction material With said clutch surfaces and the taper of the clutching surfaces be; ing arranged so that .the floating ringseparates from one of said clutching surfaces be fore it separates from the other.

7. A clutch, comprising a driving member having an internal frusto-conical clutch surface, a relatively shiftable drivenmember having an external frusto-conical surface, a floating ring between said two frusto-conical surfaces, said floating ring having external and internal layers of friction material for separably engaging said internal and externa'l clutch surfaces-respectively, the coefficients of friction of said friction material vWith said clutch surfaces and the taper of the clutching surfaces being arranged so that the floating ring' separatesfrom one of said clutching surfaces before it separates from the other, and a stop member limiting the separating movement of said floating member `from which it first separates and thereby insuring separation of said ring from the other member.

8. A clutch, comprisingv a female driving member, a relatively shiftable male driven member, a floating element between said driving and driven members, said floating element having separable engagement with both said driving and driven members, and resilient pick-up devices between said floating element and one of the other clutch memberssaid pick-up devices being mounted as vchords on one of the female surfaces.

9. A clutch, comprising a driving member having an internal frusto-conical clutch surface, a relatively shiftable driven member aving an external frusto-conical surface, a fioating'ring between said two frustoconical surfaces, said floating ring having external and internal layers. of frictioiial material for separably engaging said internal and external clutch surfacesv respectively, aiid resilient pick-up devices between said floating ring and one of the other clutch members, said pick-up devices being mounted as chords on one of said internal frusto-V conical surfaces.

10. IA clutch, comprising a driving member having an internal frusto-coiiical clutch surface, a relatively shiftable driven member having an external frusto-conicalA surface, a floating ring between said two lfrusto-coiiical f surfaces, said float-iiig ring having external and internal layers of friction material for separably engaging said internal and external clutch surfaces respectively, and resilient pick-up devices carried by said driving member for an engagement with the external layer of friction material of saidfloating ring, said pick-up devices being mounted as chords on the internal frusto-conical surface of said driving member.

In witness whereof, I have-hereunto set Amy hand at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 24th day of July, A. D. one thousandnine hundred and seventeen.

CLARENCE E. J EFFERS; 

